We see cameras are installed almost everywhere nowadays, be it the banks, homes, classrooms, streets and elsewhere. Why does the car remain behind in this? We are not talking about an entertainment unit for the car such as a movie screen. A dashboard camera is a recording device which will record all the view from the windscreen of your car.
Typically, these dash cams have gathered a huge popularity in Russia. Not only do they record all the necessary road information that you might need later. But they can also be used to capture other cool stuff. You see something weird on the road, your dash cam will capture and you can later upload that thing on your channel. Or you could even make your own documentary using one.
Contents
- What is a Dash Cam?
- Top five reasons why you must buy a Dash Cam
- Factors to consider before buying a Dash Cam
- Top 4 Dash Cam Reviews of 2019
- 1. ITrue X3 Dash Cam,2.7Inch LCD,1080P,170 degree Angle,Night Vision and 8GB Card
- 2. Falcon Zero F360+ HD DVR Dual 1080P 3.5-Inch Color TFT Rear View Mirror LCD Dash Cam with 32GB SD Card
- 3. Rexing V1 2.4″ LCD FHD 1080p 170 Wide Angle Dashboard Camera Recorder Car Dash Cam with G-Sensor, WDR, Loop Recording
- 4. KDLINKS X1 Full-HD 1920 x 1080 165 Degree Wide Angle Dashboard Camera Recorder Car Dash Cam with GPS, G-Sensor & WDR Superior Night Mode
What is a Dash Cam?
As the name suggests, a dash cam is a type of recording camera device which can be placed on the dashboard of the car or even on the windscreen by the help of a suction cup or a tape mounted system. Dash cams use the electric power for their functioning which can easily be let in by connecting it to the internal battery of the car through which it will draw the power.
This means you won’t have to turn the camera on or off. Instead, as soon as you start the car, your dash cam will start recording too. These cameras are known to overwrite the previous videos whenever they start to record the new ones. So, deleting or managing previous videos won’t be required. Various models of dash cams are available now to choose.
Top five reasons why you must buy a Dash Cam
As much as these dash cams are gaining popularity nowadays, the various benefits they accompany can surely not be neglected. Having a dash cam will serve you in various ways and on top of that, it is quite affordable too. While almost any camera can be used for that purpose, but custom made dashboards come with special features which are easier.
So, the top five reasons as to why you need to buy a dash cam are mentioned as follows.
- Accidents information: How often do you see two drivers yelling at each other over who was at fault after an accident. However, if one of them had a dash cam installed, they can very well check to see what actually happened and avoid all the chaos. A dash cam lets you do exactly that by recording all the information as it is during an accident.
- Parking lot bumps: Parking lots are one of those places which are dangerous for your car. You leave your car unattended just to be in your office and bam, you come back only to see a huge dent on the side. When you have a dash cam installed, you can turn on the recording and check to see who did it and go straight to that car guy, it’s that simple!
- Showing off driving skills: Apart from using a dash cam for accidents and safety purposes, some people also use one to record and later show off their driving skills. Many car racers use the dash cams to record autocross runs or track days. Even you can sit back later and admire your own driving skills by looking at the complete documentary recorded by your dash cam.
- Make a road trip documentary: A dash cam might prove to be a useful tool for all the video or the movie makers out there. If you love working with new sets of videos, a dash cam recording will be great for your next video. Or if you go on a road trip, you can make a whole new documentary of the complete trip to show it to your other mates later.
- Unexpected footages: Lots of crazy and wonderful things are happening in the world. Say, you are driving and a weird looking man passes from the front of your car. You might want that on your YouTube channel. Well, your dash cam does the work of recording the thing for you as it records along everything you pass through with your car.
Factors to consider before buying a Dash Cam
Before buying a dash cam, there would be a few points that you will be needed to keep in mind so that you can buy the best dash cam for your car.
So, here are some of the important factors to be considered before buying making the final purchase.
- Video quality: Since the whole purpose of a dash cam is recording the view, you would obviously want it to be in a high resolution. For that, the video quality of your dash cam must be top notch. The most recommended ones are 1080p cameras which are easy to find. 720p may also work fine but the difference in the two is quite obvious.
- Cam size: Dash cams come in all sizes from small to large ones. Sometimes the large ones are hard to hide and may end up taking a lot of space on your dashboard. However, the choice of size of the dashcam is really subjective according to the size of your windshield. If it is relatively smaller, then a small dash cam will work fine for you.
- Storage capacity: Most dash cams work with the SD card where it records all the footage captured. For example, 8-10 hours of HD video could be easily recorded on a 32gb SD card. However, dash cams feature a thing where the data is overwritten once the card is full. You might want to look for this feature in your dash cam to avoid the trouble.
- Night vision: Dash cam record any time of the day or night. However, dash cams that provide a night vision feature would record a relatively high-quality video than the simple one. If you do the most of your driving after it gets dark, then this feature is a must have for you since you will want all the recordings at the time you need it.
- Internal battery: Dash cams usually work on a 12 V connection that can be easily hardwired in your car. So, the internal battery in not contained at times. However, if you want your dash cam to record footages even when the car is off, then you might need one with the internal battery which will work irrespective of the car being driven to simply parked.
Top 4 Dash Cam Reviews of 2019
1. ITrue X3 Dash Cam,2.7Inch LCD,1080P,170 degree Angle,Night Vision and 8GB Card
It is a dash cam by ITrue which comes with a night vision feature and starts or stops recording automatically as the ignition is turned on. The key features of this dash cam are mentioned as follows.
- It works in an endless looping mode and automatically without any human touch.
- It comes with an Accident Auto Detection Feature (G-Sensor) and can lock data to memory.
- It features the 1920 x 1080 Full-HD resolution at 30 fps with H.264 compression technology.
- It also features an excellent night vision by AR0330 170 degree 6-layers glass lens.
- It comes with the Wide Dynamic (WDR) Technology.
- The screen is 2.7 inch 4:3 LCD.
- The other specifications of this dash cam are – Video Resolution:1080FHD 1920×1080, file format: Video: MOV along with Motion Detection Support.
- It supports a memory card of size up to 32GB Micro SD/TF.
- It also supports a USB port and audio recording.
- The operating temperature for this dash cam is 10°F to 140°F.
- The complete package includes ITRUE X3 Dash Camera, In car charging cable, a mounting holder for the camera, a USB cable, a User Manual and an 8 GB MicroSD card.
- It uses the battery mainly to save files in emergency and it must always be connected to X3 to external power while it is in use.
- The Motion detection should be set to OFF in recording while driving to avoid randomly stopping recording and small files saved.
- The overall dimensions of this dash cam are 3.5 x 2 x 1 inches.
- The total weight of a dash cam is 4 ounces.
2. Falcon Zero F360+ HD DVR Dual 1080P 3.5-Inch Color TFT Rear View Mirror LCD Dash Cam with 32GB SD Card
It is a dash cam by Falcon that simply clamps over your rear view mirror allowing for optimal viewing angles. The key features of this dash cam are mentioned as follows.
- It features an easy set up for multi-vehicle use and has the ability to be used in additional vehicles.
- It also comes with the night vision for interior clips and shots and is ideal for Uber, Lyft, taxis, limos, etc.
- It also has a built-in microphone/speaker function.
- It has an 180-degree rotating 120-degree viewing angle high-resolution wide-angle lens.
- The screen of this dash cam is 3.5-Inch Color TFT LCD.
- It comes with a Falcon Zero 5 Year Premium Manufacturer Warranty along with a 32GB Class 10 UHS1 SD card that is also included.
- The overall dimensions of this dash cam are 11.6 x 4.9 x 2.9 inches.
- The total weight of this dash cam is 1.9 pounds.
3. Rexing V1 2.4″ LCD FHD 1080p 170 Wide Angle Dashboard Camera Recorder Car Dash Cam with G-Sensor, WDR, Loop Recording
It is a dash cam by Rexing that comes with a notable pristine video quality and has a branded design which is discrete and exclusively offered by Rexing. The key features of this dash cam are mentioned as follows.
- It has a Wide Dynamic Range that allows the camera to perform optimally in low-light situations.
- Its WDR technology will automatically adjust the exposure of the camera to create balanced images and footage.
- The Lens of this das cam is 170 degrees 6-layers glass lens that captures a sweeping view of the road.
- Its ultra-wide lens technology is scarcely available.
- It works in a loop recording feature so that you can set it and forget it.
- When the loop recording is enabled, the users will have the option to record videos in loops of 3, 5, or 10minute video files.
- This dash cam will record these files one by one onto the SD card until it runs out of space and when space on the SD card runs out, the camera will start from the first files recorded, and delete the files from oldest to newest, one by one.
- The overall dimensions of this dash cam are 6.6 x 5 x 3 inches.
- The total weight of this dash cam is 11.2 ounces.
4. KDLINKS X1 Full-HD 1920 x 1080 165 Degree Wide Angle Dashboard Camera Recorder Car Dash Cam with GPS, G-Sensor & WDR Superior Night Mode
It is a dash cam by KDLINKS that starts recording immediately after turning on the ignition and has a night mode ensuring high-quality recordings also in poor lighting conditions. The key features of this dash cam are mentioned as follows.
- It records a full-HD Video of 1920*1080 at 30 fps at a super wide 165° angle.
- It can automatically record hands-free in a continuous loop.
- It also has a large 2.7″ screen which has a super slim design.
- It also comes with an 8GB micro SD card which is ready to use right out of the box.
- It features a superior Night-vision by world class F1.6 Six-Glass lenses and unique dashcam WDR (Wide Dynamic Range) video system.
- It also has a built-in GPS module that precisely records GPS data into dash cam video clips.
- It also has an emergency Lock Button & Accident Auto Detection Feature (G-Sensor) can lock current video file for you.
- It comes with a One Year Warranty.
Dash cams can be chosen from various configurations in which they are available. Depending on the one which suits your needs the best, the ideal kind must be chosen.